Causality
by panicattack20
Summary: Sam and Daniel discover each other in alternate timelines. Chapt. 2 of 3 up.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Causality

Season: 8

Spoilers: Moebius

Summary: What happened between the alternate timeline switches? DS

A/N: Been working on this one since it aired and the wonderful, if few, reviews I received in response to Unspoken Presumptions prompted me to finish this and post it. Please be kind and R&R.:)

_We have to let things play out exactly as they're meant to. _Carter thought back on those words weeks later as the team settled into their new lives. Daniel was of course, a fish in water, completely in his element. She envied him his comfort in this strange place. But then again, she envied all three of her team members. They were men, so even though they were adjusting to a new way of life, they didn't have to deal with having to be treated like a slave on top of everything else. Although, watching the General stammer through Daniel's daily language lessons almost made it worth it. Nobody really expected her to speak, being a woman and all, so her fluency in the language was not that important, but O'Niell's mastery of the language was ablsolutely necessary. Daniel said as much the second day of lessons, "We can't have you asking me for a translation every ten seconds; it kinda defeats the purpose of trying to blend in here."

The general had muttered something like, "This is worse than Latin," but had stopped griping long enough to learn a little. Now, although it was stilted, he could manage a basic conversation with out accidentally challenging someone to a duel or something. Well, there was that one time, but Daniel had been there to defuse the situation, so no blood had been shed. It had taken some pretty fast talking to convince the man that the colonel had not said anything lewd about the man's daughter and her relations with her camel, he had simply been inquiring as to the speed and agility of the animal. Thank God Daniel was a born diplomat.

Daniel. Sam saw him with new eyes. After his ascension, he had become more secure, more assertive. But now, surrounded by living history, in a country and a time, he'd spent years studying, he really opened up. She could see it in his eyes, he was happy here, knowing that no one in their time, none of the colleagues that laughed him out of academia that is, could possibly know what he saw every day here. But under that, there was a sadness. Sam wondered if he thought of Sha're, of their year in a place so much like this. Of course, their days were too full of trying to understand the people around them that she didn't have that much time to wonder, except now, when what used to be SG-1 gathered around a camp fire with the locals and partook of the evening meal. At this time, they were pretty much left to themselves, so Sam had a lot of time to think about the new turn in their fates. And about Daniel.

Technically SG-1 no longer existed, or didn't exist yet, whatever. The military that was so much a part of her life was part of a country that no one knew was there yet. Her excuses were gone, now she had to face the truth. She was head over heels in love with Dr. Daniel Jackson and, as hard as it was for a lieutenant colonel in the air force to admit, she was afraid to tell him, scared out of her mind that he didn't feel the same and she would have destroyed a nine year friendship for nothing.

She thought about all this as she stared at him in the fire light. And she thought, what if? What if she snuck into his tent tonight and told him everything in her heart? What if she took the plunge and admitted the reason she hadn't had a successful relationship wasn't because of her career, or even because most of the guys she became interested in had a habit of dying. The real reason was that they never measured up to Daniel. Hell, Daniel kept dying too, but refused to stay dead. That's a lot for any guy to live up to. She had tried, really tried with Pete, but in the end she just couldn't do it, she couldn't be with him while she still had these feelings for another man. All of these wonderings just gave her a headache, so she settled with trying to think of nothing at all and drinking the horrid moonshine that had been sitting in front of her. She was cruising over tipsy, heading straight for drunk when Daniel walked up.

"Hey, Sam, you look pretty pensive," _and pretty wasted,_ but he didn't voice that part. "What's up?"

"Just thinking about…everything," she replied, hoping he'd get her gist and leave it at that.

"About causality and upcoming rebellions everything, or more personal everything?" He sat down beside her, too close and not close enough, according to the warring sides of her brain.

"Both, I guess."

"It is a lot to take in, isn't it? I mean, for me this is exciting, but for you guys, this must be torture. Especially you Sam." She knew exactly what he was saying with out him having to voice it, another reason she loved him so much.

"Yeah, women don't really have it easy here."

Daniel didn't think right now would be a good time to tell her that this was one of the more enlightened cultures and it could be worse just about anywhere else, but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. No sense in getting Sam off on a tirade. Even if it was all true, a slightly drunk woman's rights advocate ranting in a foreign tongue was bound to get noticed. Instead he said, "Hey, you wanna go for a walk? All these people are kinda getting to me."

Sam saw through that excuse but was too grateful for the escape to call him on it. "Yeah, let's go."

They had been walking for while when she turned to him, a bit unsteadily, and said, "I think I'm ready to give you the real answer to the question you asked me two years ago." Her thought process, foggy as it was, was that if he thought about her the same way she thought about him, way too often and in inappropriate situations, then he'd guess the right question. If not, then she'd know with out having to ruin their friendship. All the holes in this little plan did not occur to her drink addled mind.

Daniel was confused to say the least, but was willing to humor her. "Well, two years ago I was ascended, so it had to be either just before or just after, of course, before would make it more like three years ago, so it had to be after I descended, and that doesn't really narrow it down much, considering I didn't know who I was, so I asked lots of questions."

Sam but down on frustration and nerves, "Well, you only asked me one question that wasn't a hypothetical after we found you."

"Oh, you're talking about Vis Uban." Daniel thought about what their conversation had entailed exactly in that tent. Then something occurred to him, but he brushed it off just as quickly, and with it the slight embarrassment that he had asked Sam if there was anything between them. He knew she had told the truth. Between means two people and the feelings were all on his side so… His ponderings were broken by Sam taking his hand. _Wait a minute; she's holding my and…what is that in her eyes. Umm. Maybe…_

"Sam, _was_ there something between us?"

"No," she answered and made him feel like an idiot, but the blush had barely begun to spread when she voiced her next statement, "But I wanted there to be."

Daniel smiled that wonderful rare full smile that she loved so much and leaned in to kiss her. "And now?" he asked, nearly meeting her lips.

She smiled and kissed him. They didn't speak again for quite a while after that.


	2. Chapter 2

Samantha Carter, PhD, proofreader, wanted to scream in frustration. She'd been plucked out of her comfortable, albeit, boring life and thrown into a huge state secret involving wormholes, intergalactic travel, and time travel and then when she, and her new, very cute friend Daniel Jackson had served their purpose, they'd been thrown right out again.

Sorry kids, we know that the other versions of yourselves had been keeping the enemy from the gate, literally, for eight years but you don't have the training; even though you figured out in a few days what our experts couldn't. That was the story of her life alright. Always doing the work and getting none of the credit. And then, their last hope, Colonel Jack O'Neill had turned out to be a bust, costing her thousands of frequent flier miles, she added to herself.

The last straw had come when, after finding them selves stranded in Florida until the next day thanks to over-booked flights, they had tried to find a hotel to stay in for the night. After two hours of phone calls, they ended up in the only motel in the city with the only vacancy, thanks to some kind of business convention. They'd both accepted it philosophically; after all, sharing a room was better than sleeping at the airport. Or at least that's what they thought, until they say the room: one bed. One small bed. They looked at each other uncomfortably.

"I'll…I'll take the floor," Daniel finally broke the tense silence.

"N-no, that's not fair," Sam stuttered, then grimaced. Why did she always sound so timid? She didn't sound that way in her thoughts, just when she spoke.

"Hey, I used to be an archeologist, remember?" he said with self deprecating humor. "I've slept on worse, trust me."

Sam gave him a half smile. "You want the shower first, then?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure." He definitely need to be away from her at this moment, he thought as he grabbed his bag and headed for the bathroom. He'd liked her at first, then, seeing the way his counterpart looked at hers on the video, he guessed the other him liked her, too. It seemed like he was destined to moon after this woman. After that question Jack O'Neill had asked about them being a couple, he'd been trying to hide his feelings better. Obviously, he hadn't been hiding them well enough to start with if a clod like O'Neill could see it.

Sam paced in the main room, muttering to herself. "Yeah, Sam, real smooth. That jerk O'Neill could see that you like Daniel. Even asked if you were seeing each other because of it. Couldn't you have been just a bit more subtle in your drooling? That poor guy couldn't wait to get away from you." She flopped down on the bed. _The other me liked him, maybe even loved him based on the look in her-my-eyes. I guess I'm meant to chase after him. No way he feels the same. There was something in the other Daniel's eyes though…and it follows that if I share the other me's emotions, then he might share the other Daniel's. _Sam shook her head in denial. "Wishful thinking, Sam."

With the two of them unknowingly sharing a resolution, the night time rituals were done with out too much awkwardness. All too soon though, it was time for lights out. Sam lay in the bed and Daniel bedded down on the floor with some extra blankets and pillows they'd found in the closet. Neither expected to get much sleep that night, but jet lag caught up with them and they dozed off listening to one another's breathing.

Later that night, Daniel was awakened by a strange noise. He listened for a few minutes, and hearing nothing more, tried to get back to sleep. Until he heard it again. It sounded like…was that crying? He sat up and looked over to Sam, who sure enough, was lying in bed, weeping softly.

"Sam, what's wrong?" The was no answer and before he opened his mouth to try again, Sam started talking, mumbling more like, and Daniel understood she was crying and talking in her sleep. Having been plagued with nightmares himself, he figured the best course of action was to let her get through the dream. Better than waking up and trying to get over the horrible feelings the nightmare invoked, in his experience. He was just about to lie back down, when Sam suddenly shot up in bed, saying something like, "Mom, no."

"Hey, you okay? Daniel asked.

Sam's head swung in his direction, apparently not remembering he was there, until he spoke. She fumbled with the lamp next to the bed until she finally got it turned on. "Umm, yeah," she answered after a minute, flushing. "Just a…"

"Nightmare?" Daniel finished for her. At her nod, he continued, "Yeah, I get them too. That sounded pretty bad."

"It was about my mom," she glanced his way, seeing him cock his head to the side, "She, uh, she died when I was a kid. And even though I wasn't there to see the car accident, I still dream about it whenever I'm stressed."

Daniel nodded in commissary. "I understand." He winced, "God I hate it when people say that to me, but I do. My parents died when I was little. Sometimes, I still see it in my dreams." Sam nodded. There seemed to be nothing else to say. She reached down and touched his shoulder in comfort. Daniel laid his hand on hers; giving her back the comfort she was giving him. After a minute, Daniel shifted uncomfortably. The floor was very hard and he was in a very awkward position. Not to mention that he wasn't twenty-five anymore, and sleeping on the floor was not doing his back any favors.

Sam gasped, seeing his discomfort. "I knew it was a bad idea for you to sleep on the floor. Get up here now." She ordered, her inhibited nature battling with her concern for her friend and loosing.

Daniel offered a token protest, but Sam would here none of it. Moments later he was settled in bed beside Sam, as far away from her as he could possibly get without falling on the ground. They both fell asleep a few minutes later; the whole ordeal being more than enough to make Sam forget her nightmare and Daniel once again succumbing to exhaustion.

_The light was soft and dim, but that didn't matter because sight was not a sense she needed right now. She could feel his body pressing up against hers, his hand on her breast, taste his lips as they shared a never ending kiss, hear the rapid breathing and soft moans. She didn't need sight to know that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him right now and that's all she needed to know. His hand abandoned her chest traveling downward, and when he reached his goal, she gasped and his name escaped her lips on a hitched breath. "Daniel…"_

Her own voice woke her. And him apparently. Blue eyes snapped open to meet blue eyes and they stared at each other for a moment letting their minds digest what had just been going on. They had been acting out a dream of each other; with each other.

For a moment neither moved. Then Sam smiled. Just smiled. That was all the encouragement Daniel needed. He returned her smile, then slowly lowered his head to kiss her again.

The next morning Sam was the first to wake up. Her first thought was, _Something's not right here. _The upper half of her body was pillowed on Daniel's. She was unclothed and so was he. She blushed remembering the slow dreaming love making they'd shared last night, but she cuddled closer happily. Her stirring roused Daniel, who looked at her in confusion, then recollection, then worry. He was happier than he could remember being in years, but how did she feel? He tipped her head up so he could look in her eyes. All the feelings in his heart were reflected in her eyes and he smiled.

"Some dream, huh?" he teased. Sam only nodded and kissed him, wanting to relive it. Daniel was only too happy to comply.

A few days later, she reflected upon those moments in bittersweet reminiscence. She was in the ship with O'Neill and the Jaffa Teal'c who she was trying really hard not to hate. After all, he had a pretty good reason for killing Daniel. He had been taken over by one of those awful Goa'uld things. Sam bit back tears. Her gentle sweet Daniel had managed to shoot a couple men before being killed himself. Now they were on their way to 3000 B.C. Egypt. Daniel would have loved to see this, she thought.

They landed and were led to a tent by a man named He told him that their other selves had tried to stage a rebellion and had been killed. All except one.

A figure ducked into the tent and removed the hood that had blocked his face from their view. "Daniel." Sam whispered, looking at the man in front of her. He was so different. The hair was a lot shorter. The face harder, much less open than her Daniel's, and the body. Sam blushed. He had trained in a military unit for eight years. It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that he was so…built. She remembered her Daniel telling her that he had felt like he was meant for something more. A part of her rejoiced that he had, even in another life, had been more.

Sam marveled over the difference in Daniel's temperament and personality. A part of her was ecstatic to have Daniel back in whatever form, but another part missed the gentle, sweet Daniel she had loved for such a short time.

If Sam had conflicting emotions, they were nothing compared to Daniel's as he explained what had happened five years ago, and the years since. His heart had jumped up in his throat upon seeing Sam again. He hadn't thought he would survive after Sam, Jack, and Teal'c had been executed. The pain when ever he had thought of Sam had been so intense, so devastating that he wanted to die. Added on top of that seeing Jack and Teal'c die, loosing his whole family like that had almost been too much to bear. So he'd focused on organizing the rebellion. He'd put his whole being into not feeling, only doing, and sometimes, when he finally lay down at night, he could actually sleep. Now seeing her again, seeing them all again, brought on such warring emotions of happiness and pain that he felt torn in half. So he did what he'd done for years to deal with his pain. He blocked it out and focused on what had to be done at that moment.

Three months later the rebellion had been won, the stargate buried and what used to be SG-1 settled into their new lives. Daniel was teaching Jack Egyptian, again, Teal'c was getting used to being free, and Sam, well, she was adjusting. She came to conclusion that she was never going to have what she had with Daniel back. For one reason, this Daniel just didn't look at her like that. She'd learned that Daniel and the other Sam had been in a relationship from one of the natives. They'd been in love. But he didn't feel that way about this version of her. She would have laughed if it hadn't been so pathetic. She was competing with her own ghost…and loosing.

She decided to begin a campaign. She would become more like what the other Sam was like. After all they were the same person; it was all a matter of tapping into other parts of her personality. She started, nonchalantly asking Daniel about the other her. He gave her, little by little, what she needed to know. Sam started asking Jack and Teal'c to teach her to fight. She became more forceful, less shy. Daniel noticed the change almost immediately. One day he confronted her.

"Sam, you know, we're trying to blend in here. Sparring with Jack and Teal'c isn't the way to do that." He told her as gently as he could, trying to take the reprimand out.

This was the last straw for Sam. She exploded, "What so you want from me? You don't want me at first because I wasn't enough like her. Then when I try to be more what you want, you still aren't happy! Well, you know what? I quit. I give up." She stormed away, which isn't easy to do in sand, but she gave it her best shot.

Daniel stood dumbfounded for a moment. Finally he ran to catch up with her. "What do you mean I don't want you? Of course I do. I love you. You didn't have to change yourself!" He stopped, realizing, "That's what this has been about? The way you've been acting?"

Sam felt hot tears escape her eyes but ignored them. She couldn't seem to speak, so instead she just nodded.

Daniel shook his head and pulled her close and kissed her. Soon their need took over and he lowered her to the sand. A sense of déjà vu assaulted him, but he blocked it out and instead focused on the moment.

Quite a while later, Daniel looked at her lying beside him and smiled, "You know, we are highly educated, intelligent, sensible people, but we can't seem to see what is in front of our faces."

Sam giggled. "You're right. What's wrong with us?"

"Well I, for one, was scared that you didn't feel the same way."

Sam rubbed her lips over his again, letting him know just how she felt. "It scares me that we have fixed the timeline, and things might go back to the way they were before when you bury that tablet." He had been working on it, half-heartedly. He knew how she felt. The timeline would right its self and they would no longer have what they had. Maybe he should leave another coded message on that tablet.

_To be continued…_

A/N: sorry this took so long, just started a new job and everything's been pretty hectic.


End file.
